


The Dollmaker

by Username8746489



Series: (Mostly) Nathmarc Drabbles!! [44]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bad Ending, Horror, Inspired by the short film by Alter called The Dollmaker, M/M, i say inspired it was copied word for word, mention of suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:42:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28882635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Username8746489/pseuds/Username8746489
Summary: Nathaniel had been heartbroken when their adopted daughter, Miriam, had gotten killed by a drunk driver.He was never truly able to let go. But this?This was insane.
Relationships: Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg
Series: (Mostly) Nathmarc Drabbles!! [44]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715527
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26
Collections: MarcNath Fics!





	The Dollmaker

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this short film I highly recommend watching it first before reading this fic it's so much better without the plot twist spoiled  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqSmb3n0j8o
> 
> CW: Mention of suicide near the end

Nathaniel had been heartbroken when their adopted daughter, Miriam, had gotten killed by a drunk driver.

He was never truly able to let go. But this?

This was insane.

_I'll need a set of her clothes. Do not wash them. I’ll also need a lock of hair and a valuable possession of hers._

_Can it be a ribbon?_

_Ribbon, doll, whatever, sure._

_As long as she cherished the thing._

_Does this really work?_

_Nobody ever asked for their money back._

In the basement underneath their house, the woman with blue hair opened up a box, revealing a doll inside. It had the same brown hair as their daughter, wearing one of her star patterned shirts. The button eyes and stitched on smile unnerved Marc. Her treasured red ribbon that she always wore whenever she could was nestled in the doll's hair.

Despite how it creeped Marc out, Nathaniel seemed to be approaching it with curiosity.

"Take a look," The woman smiled, "Tell me what you think. Tell me it’s great."

Nathaniel breathed out slowly, "I think..."

"I think it's just a stupid doll," Marc muttered from where he was sitting on the stairs. He knew a scam when he saw one. "An overpriced stupid doll." Nathaniel gave him a disappointed look. Even if Nathaniel still wanted to deny the truth, Marc had accepted it ever since the funeral.

It was fine. It was just as he told Nathaniel. He would be strong for the both of them until Nathaniel could regain his footing.

"Oh yeah," The dollmaker rolled her eyes at Marc, turning back to the artist. "Don't be shy. Come on."

Nathaniel bit his lip, staring down at the doll. He slowly reached down towards it, unflinching when hands shot up out of the box and grabbed onto his wrists. A happy noise left his lips as he lifted his daughter out of the box, "My baby!" Nathaniel held Miriam close to him, nuzzling into her neck, "I missed you so much."

Marc stood up from the stairs, watching concerned as his husband cuddled a doll, giving it cheek and forehead kisses repeatedly. Did Nathaniel really believe that doll was the real deal? He approached Nathaniel cautiously.

The woman smiled at him, "Go ahead, buddy. Hold the stupid overpriced doll’s hand."

Marc glanced worriedly at her before doing what she commanded. 

The doll shifted to his daughter beneath his fingers. Miriam turned to him with a wide grin, "Dad!"

Marc jolted back, letting go of her hand and watching her shift back to a motionless doll. He wiped his sweaty palm on his pants turning back to Nathaniel, still murmuring assurances into the doll's ears. "Put that thing down, Nath. let’s take a moment and think this through."

"Already did," Nathaniel exhaled, reaching inside his jacket pocket with one hand, using the other arm to hold the doll. He pulled out an envelope stuffed with cash, shoving it into the dollmaker's awaiting hands, "Here's the other half."

"Congratulations!" She cheered, smiling happily, "She's yours! Now onto the instruction manual..."

\---

Marc and Nathaniel followed the woman into their house through the back door.

"Those houses where your daughter lived, I left this spiritual mark," She explained, leading the two towards the front door, "Place is chock full of energy of its former self. Inside here the doll is a vessel to channel that energy." The dollmaker opened the door, gesturing towards Nathaniel, still with the doll in his grasp, to walk out, "But outside…" 

Nathaniel held Miriam closer to himself as he took some steps out.

"Outside it’s just a doll."

The redhead took a moment to look at his daughter, looking disturbed once he noticed Miriam had returned to being a doll. He quickly held her closer, hurrying inside the house. The dollmaker closed the door behind him as Nathaniel walked to the kitchen, still cradling what he perceived as his daughter all the while. Marc turned to her, crossing his arms.

"Why do I feel like the instruction manual comes with a long list of warnings?"

"Just one!" She cheerily said, pulling out an hourglass full of black sand, "Do not spend longer than one turn of the hourglass with her. Ever! Once time’s up, she must go back in the box for a whole day before you can take her out again."

Marc raised an eyebrow, "What happens if I go overtime?"

"My products like a drug, buddy. Fun to use." She leaned in to whisper her next words to Marc, "But dangerous to abuse." She started twirling a finger around her ear, "Ignore this rule and you’ll start losing it. _Really_ losing it. You’ll believe a lie. You believe in the doll is the real thing. You won’t even have to touch it anymore after a while for the illusion to work. You’ll forget about the accident, cancer, or... however she died. You’ll even forget about hiring me. Your mind will bury what needs to be buried and fill in the blanks that need to be filled to keep the lie alive."

Marc was brought of his state of shock by the blue-haired woman putting a hand on his shoulder and smiling, "Of course if any of this happens it’s not my responsibility. Because you have been warned."

\---

Nathaniel had the doll in his lap as he scooped oatmeal out of a bowl and onto the doll's mouth, cooing all the while. The food fell, dripping down into the imitation's clothing.

Marc walked into the room, feeling tired, just as he had these last couple of months. He glanced at the piled up dirty dishes in the sink. Gulping, Marc sat down across from Nathaniel. "Morning."

His husband didn't have any sort of reaction that implied he heard Marc, continuing to feed the Miriam mimic.

"You up all night with her again?"

Still no reaction.

"I was just remembering what I said to you after the funeral." Marc took a shaky breath before continuing, "I told you that life can be a cruel bitch sometimes. That deep down we all have the strength to get through whatever she throws us. And even if we forget that strength it’s always there. And I said that I could be strong for the both of us until you found your strength again." Marc looked down, letting out choked laughter, "Turns out, that’s bullshit. Turns out that I’m weak." He looked up again, staring into Nathaniel's eyes, "And I need you as much as you need me now, we can either brave through this thing together or let it tear us apart." Marc shook in place, willing himself not to cry, "What’s it gonna be Nathaniel?"

Nathaniel blinked at him, putting the spoon in his hand back in the bowl, still cradling the doll, "What funeral?"

Marc laughed before he turned serious, "You need to put that thing back in the box."

"I’m not putting my daughter in a box!" Nathaniel shouted in indignation.

"It's not your daughter!" Marc shouted angrily, standing up and storming over to Nathaniel, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him to the back door. 

Nathaniel whimpered, holding on tighter to the Miriam doll, "You’re hurting me."

"So are you," Marc snarled.

"What are you doing?!"

"Taking you outside so you can see what you really have in your hands," He muttered, pulling them all the way outside. Marc turned around, still holding onto Nathaniel, "This is my fault for letting-"

Marc froze once he noticed he was holding onto a doll lookalike of Nathaniel, dropping it to the ground, staring at it horrified.

_He was losing it and I didn’t know what to do._

_So I hid the doll and he..._

_He just couldn’t take it._

_He… uh…_

_He slit his wrists._

_That wouldn’t be my responsibility buddy._

_I just want him back._

_I_ need _him back._

_I’ll need a set of clothes he wore at least once, do not wash them!_

_I’ll also need a lock of hair._

The doll with a wig of bright red hair wore a red-orange band shirt, with purple jeans and a gray jacket.

_And a valuable possession of his._

The Nathaniel doll was sewn with his hand holding the doll of their deceased daughter from the same dollmaker.

Marc knelt down, picking up the doll. He held his head against his shoulder, squeezing the doll tightly and crying into his hair. Marc stood up before walking back inside the house.

As his husband returned to him in his arms, looking confused, Marc buried his head in Nathaniel's shoulder muttering apologies and assurances he would never do that again.

_So it works for adults too?_

_Nobody ever asked for their money back._

**Author's Note:**

> Miriam made by Web and Shadow on the Nathmarc Multiverse discord server   
> https://discord.gg/cVTTGpj


End file.
